The Parent Trap
by raindropss11
Summary: Parent Trap AU. All Human. KlausxCaroline
1. Chapter 1

_September, 1998_

_Caroline grabbed the largest suitcase she saw from her walk-in closet and started throwing in random articles of clothing. With tears streaming uncontrollably down her face, she couldn't even see what she was shoving inside her luggage. It didn't matter. She would just ask Rebekah to come get the rest of her stuff. The only thing she needed to do right now was to get the hell out of the house. She zipped her suitcase and was about to turn around when someone hugged her from behind. _

"_Caroline please.. please, love.. don't do this." _

_She closed her eyes and willed herself not to scream. He can't just say things like that and call her "love" and expect things to be okay. To be fixed. No matter how hard they tried, some things are just beyond repair. _

"_Nik. Let me go." She shrugged Klaus' hands off of her and started dragging her suitcase out the closet._

"_Ca-caroline..please.." She finally turned to face Klaus and saw that he had tears in his eyes and his hair was a mess from the bean bag chair Caroline threw at him minutes ago. It would've been quite a hilarious sight if it wasn't so depressing at the same time. Caroline knew that if she stayed a little longer, if she allowed herself to be comforted, she would drop her suitcase and come running back to his arms. It's like an endless cycle, really._

_Niklaus and Caroline met at the Mystic Cruise when Caroline was having one of her 'soul-searching' moments and decided to take a cruise in Europe. It was kind of a like a whirlwind romance. They got married two years ago after dating for three months. The first few months of their marriage had been great. While Nik left Britain to be with Caroline, he had to keep flying back to London for his art business. When flying back and forth became too tedious even for Klaus, he decided to close his art business. Klaus tried to open a US branch but it didn't work out so he decided to teach art at one of the universities. Caroline was still in her senior year in college so it wasn't like she could just leave. Nothing could beat the happiness Caroline felt when she found out that she was pregnant with day their twin boys were born was the best day of Caroline's life. Klaus was the perfect father to their sons. A few months after the twins were born, Caroline noticed a few changes with Klaus. He started coming home late and more often that not, drunk. He was always complaining and blaming Caroline for numerous things. They just kept fighting. Screaming and throwing of things were involved. It went on for a while and harsh words were exchanged. Caroline thought she could handle it.. Thought that she loved Klaus enough to bear it all. Until..well, until now. _

"_I can't do this anymore, Klaus." _

_Caroline noticed how Klaus' expression turned cold. "So that's it, then. You're leaving. After two years of being together."_

"_Maybe we rushed into this too soon." Caroline knew it was too late to be saying these. It would've been easier if it were just them. The twins would be affected too. But Caroline would rather she and Klaus separate than have the twins grow up in a home with two parents constantly fighting and drifting apart. It would hurt them more in the future if they didn't end this now. _

"_Leave, then." Klaus said in that dead calm manner of his that Caroline secretly hated. He then turned to stare out the window. She preffered him screaming his head off at her than this. It was like he's giving up. Caroline internally shook her head. Isn't this what she wanted though? To finally end all this angst and just..leave? _

"_Okay." Caroline didn't know what else to say. She didn't want to dwell on her feelings now because she knows that if she starts she'll never stop and she'll never leave. Better stick to the technical stuff for now. "I'll call you once I settle a meeting with the lawyers. I'm taking the twins with me."_

_At that, Klaus turned around furiously. "You are NOT taking my sons away from me." _

_Klaus looked so vulnerable and scared right then and there that Caroline wanted to reach out to him but she willed herself to stay put._

"_For now. I meant for now. While things aren't settled yet. I'm not taking them away from you. You're still their father no matter what happens between us." Caroline tried to reassure him._

"_How are we going to work this out?" Klaus asked, his voice tired. Caroline never saw him look more defeated. _

"_I don't know, Nik. Just..wait for my call." Caroline said then grabbed her suitcase. She took one last look at Nik, then turned around and walked right out of the life she thought was her's forever. _

_She never looked back, and he never ran after her. _

_June, 2013_

_New York_

"Nathan Forbes, you've been in there for almost thirty minutes, I hope you're not doing what I think you're doing? Remember we still need to drop by my office before we go to the airport! You don't wanna miss the plane, sweetie." Caroline said as she knocked in her son's bathroom door. She took a step back when it suddenly opened.

"Jeez mom, relax. We don't leave for another six hours, anyway." Nathan said as he moved past his mom to continue his last minute packing. "And what was what it you thought I was doing?"

"You know what, nevermind. Why aren't you packed yet, mister? I told you last night-"

Nathan grabbed his mom's shoulders. "Mom. Relax. The camp's not going anywhere and look, all I need to do is pack my toothbrush anyway. Okay?"

Caroline sighed, she knew that she was being more neurotic that usual, but she couldn't help it. She's going to be separated from her son for three weeks. Surely she can be excused for this behavior right?

_Meanwhile in London .._

"Aunt Bekah, please tell me how you allowed dad to ship me overseas again?" Clayton Mikaelson asked as he was waiting for his plane to board. He was sitting with his Aunt Bekah while his dad was buying some coffee. He was here in the first place because his dad suddenly thought that sending him to a camp was a good learning experience or whatever.

"I think it was my accent." Klaus said as he sat down beside his son.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "If it were up to me, we'd be on a plane to Rome right now, just imagine all the shopping.. afternoons sipping lattes.."

"Ah, but it's not up to you is it?" Klaus teased his younger sister.

"Honestly Nik, why send the poor kid to a hideous camp when he can be enjoying his summer with me in Rome?"

"Its edu-"

"Educational, I know." Rebekah said and made a dying face at Clay. He laughed and tried to school his features when his dad made his 'don't start' face at him.

"It'll be over before you know it, and you'll meet a lot of people there. It'll be fun, I promise." Klaus reassured. Although Clay wasn't so sure. He was not comfortable meeting new people and being outside his comfort zone. But maybe its time to change that.

He sighed and sipped on his latte, waiting for the call for boarding. This is going to be a long three weeks he could tell.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi! Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites! :) really appreciate it! :) **

Clayton stared at the pile of bags in front of him, wondering how in the world he was going to grab his luggage now. Its been an hour since he's arrived at camp and after a long flight and another particularly long car ride to the camp, its safe to say that he's exhausted as fuck. Pardon his French.

After waiting a few minutes for the pile of bags to lessen, Clay finally saw the handle of his. He sighed with relief and went to grab the handle when suddenly another pile of suitcases were placed on top of the pile.

"Are you kidding me?!" Clay exclaimed. He was seriously contemplating just leaving his luggage there and coming back later.

He looked at his luggage under the pile and tried to find the best angle to haul it out. He grabbed the handle once again and tried to pull as hard as he can. He's probably not making a good impression on the strength department, is he? He released the handle and took a step back, suddenly bumping into someone.

"Need a hand?"

Clay turned and saw a guy around his age with brownhair and the grayest eyes he's ever seen in his life. All thoughts about his luggage momentarily flew right out of his mind.

"That one yours?" They guy went on, oblivious to the tongue-tied state Clay found himself in. He pointed at the dark blue luggage peaking underneath the pile.

"Y-yeah." Bloody hell, he's started stuttering. Great. This is not a good sign.

The guy grabbed the handle and effortlessly pulled it out from the pile and dumped it on the ground with a satisfying thump which made Clay internally wince. He hoped none of his art materials got damaged.

"Thanks, uh..?"

"Hans. And you are?"

Clay couldn't help but laugh. Its just.. he's just watched Frozen? He has this secret unhealthly obsession for Disney movies.

"Clayton. But most people call me Clay." He shrugged.

"And you sound-"

"British?" Clay supplied.

Hans laughed. Clay noticed how the cornes of his eyes crinkle when he laughs. "Finished my sentence right there."

"You mean sandwiches?" Clay smirked, feeling bold all of the sudden.

Then he remembered who he was. Clay blushed furiously, he was so mortified that he wanted the ground to swallow him up.

"I mean, not sandwiches, obviously. There aren't any sandwiches around. But if there _are_ sandwiches I'd really like one cause I'm starving. But then again, I didn't really mean to say anything at all.." _Oh God shut up now, Clay. Just shut up. Your dork is showing. _

Hans didn't seem to mind though. He just laughed and shook his head. "Don't worry, I've been getting those a lot ever since that ice movie came out."

_Ice movie. _"You haven't seen it?"

"Nope. Not my thing." Hans shrugged. "So, what cabin you staying at?"

"Cabin B. You?"

Hans seemed to brighten up at that. "I'm staying in room 5, man! Guess we'll be cabin-mates then."

Clay nodded. He was incapable of stringing more than two words now apparently.

"Listen, I gotta go. But it was nice meeting you."

"You too."

Hans' smile grew. "See you around, dude."

"Okay, see you, uh, bro."

_Bro? _Clay mentally face-palmed himself.

Hans waved then started to walk back towards the common area.

Clay tried to gather his wits. What was _with _him? Is it the new environment? He wasn't normally this flustered around others. Or at least that's what he thought. Well, at least he made one new friend. His dad would be proud.

So yeah, he kind of bats for the other team. No, make that really. Clay was pretty sure he was gay. Better to just get that out of the way now. Only his Aunt Bekah knows, though. It's not like he didn't feel like he couldn't tell his dad. He didn't plan on telling either of them. Not yet, anyway. But his aunt basically ambushed him a few months back and told him that she knew all along and that she couldn't hold it in any longer because did he want to introduce his boyfriend to her and go to clubs? Yeah, he really wanted her to meet his nonexistent boyfriend. He wasn't upset that she knew though. It was nice to have someone in the family know.

He started walking towards his room. Thank God they didn't have to share rooms. Clay was used to having his own space. The cabins were more like cottages with five rooms and a living area for people to hang out. He put his key on the lock of room 3 and was greeted with a cloud of dust. The walls of his room were dark blue. There was a single bed with dark blue sheets that matched the walls, a closet, a study table and wide windows. Clay dropped his suitcase close to the closet and fell face down on the bed. He was dead tired and unpacking would just have to wait.

xxxxxxxxx

"Nathan Forbes." Nathan supplied his name at the front desk. He's been here for 40 minutes and he hasn't even checked in yet. In fact, he's just managed to make his mom leave. She insisted that they eat first at a nearby restaurant but he knew better. She'd miss him too much. He didn't blame her though, this was the first time he'd be away from his mom for a long period of time but he wasn't a child anymore.

The facilitator looked up and did a double take. "Didn't I check you in an hour ago?"

Nathan shook his head, confused. "No, I just got here."

"Huh." She said as she checked the list in front of her. "What's your name, again?"

"Nathan Forbes."

"Oh, right. Here it is!" Carol, as stated in her name tag, placed a check mark next to his name and handed it to him. " Sign right here. Sorry, it's been a long day. Must've mistaken you for someone else."

Nathan shrugged. "No problem."

"Alright then! Here, you'll be needing this for the day activities." Carol handed him a medium sized backpack. "The orientation would be after dinner. So you have approximately.." She glanced at the clock behind her. "2 hours to settle in, meet your cabin-mates and to take a look around. Dinner's at 6."

"Thanks." Nathan grabbed the backpack and started walking to Cabin D. He just hoped that this camp won't be as horrible as he think it is. He was supposed to spend his summer training for soccer and hanging out with his friends everyday but instead he's stuck here in a camp that he didn't want to go to. His mom told him that it was a great opportunity for him to meet new people and be more independent. Right, like he wasn't independent enough. If he didn't know any better, he knew that his mom just thought that his friends were a bad influence to him. Well, it's not as if she was completely wrong. They were suspended for a week for trespassing the school grounds on a school night and messing up the props for the school play. But whatever, Nathan paid his dues by doing community service. Wasn't that enough?

He was deep in thought that he didn't even realize that he was already in front of Cabin D. He sighed and opened the door. A group of guys turned to look at him. Nathan walked past them to go to his room.

"Hey!" One of them called out.

Nathan briefly closed his eyes, trying to be patient. He turned around and forced himself to smile, "Yeah?"

"I'm James." The guy walked towards him and held out his hand. What is this?

Nathan looked at his outstretched hand and ignored it. "Nathan."

James awkwardly drew back his hand. "So that's Scott, Noah and Kevin." He pointed towards the other guys lounging on the couch as he introduced them. The guys waved half-heartedly, apparently noticing Nathan's cold demeanor. Nathan sighed to himself, he knew he was being a jerk. But he was dead tired and he didn't feel like making small talk.

"Hey. Uh, if you don't mind, I'd really like to rest before dinner. It's been a long trip." Nathan tried to compensate for his earlier rudeness.

James looked like he understood. "I know what you mean, dude. This place is like in the middle of nowhere. I've no idea where my parents found it."

"Yeah, my mom practically forced me into coming here." Kevin said. Or was it Noah? Who knows. Nathan really needed that nap.

"The only thing good about this place is that there's this huge soccer field just right before the lake."

Nathan perked up at that. "Soccer field?"

They nodded. "Yeah, we're gonna play after the orientation. You in?" Scott asked him. The only way Nathan remembered that he was Scott was because he was holding a huge bowl of Cheetos.

"Yeah, I'm in." Nathan grinned. Maybe this camp wouldn't be so bad after all.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you for the reviews and follows! Here's the next chapter :) btw, Kol is alive in this universe. Its safe to say that I will never get over his death.

Caroline sighed as she dropped her keys on the desk by the door. She has been working non-stop and staying at work even past her working hours the last three days. She just didn't like going home knowing Nathan wasn't there. For the first time in 17 years, Caroline truly felt alone.

She shrugged the feeling away though, she shouldn't dwell on any of those feelings. With an air of determination, she stormed towards the liquor cabinet and opened it with a flourish. Inside was a few bottles of wine but none of the hard stuff. But what else did she expect? Sure, she had the occasional glass of red, but it wasn't like she could get full on wasted whenever she wanted. She had a kid to raise. She can't go on partying like a teenager anymore. Right, she's going to call the girls and invite them for a girls' night in. It was long overdue, anyway.

She grabbed her phone and was about to dial Katherine's number when her phone staring ringing.

"Hello?"

"So Nadia and my moody thirteen year old that apparently hates the world right now are staying at their father's for the weekend."

Ah, speak of the devil. "I was just about to call you, actually. Fancy a night in with the girls?"

"It's like you're reading my mind. So I was thinking, you, me, Bon and maybe my dear sister Elena if she's not so busy being basic. We'll bring the drinks, you take care of the pizza. Then we can go gossip about our children."

Caroline laughed at that, feeling like she was the teenager instead of the mom. Its just like old times, really.

"I have alcohol here, you know." Caroline said as she grabbed the notebook where she writes down the delivery numbers.

There was silence on the other line.

"Yeah..We'll bring the booze." Katherine repeated.

"Hey!"

"See ya in 20!" Katherine chirped then hung up. Caroline shaked her head and went to her room to change out of her work clothes into something more comfortable.

Two hours, Friends marathon, a box of pizza and a bottle of Jack later..

Caroline, Katherine, Elena and Bonnie were all sprawled out on separate couches on Caroline's spacious living room.

"I just love this couch.." Katherine said as she stared at the ceiling. "I could lie down in this thing forever."

"Yeah, Nathan says the same thing. I literally have to drag him out of that thing." Caroline said and finished her glass of red in one gulp. She leaned back on the bean chair she was sitting on with a happy sigh. Its been a while since she's been this relaxed and carefree. She loved her job, she was partner at one of the most successful event planning companies in Manhattan. It kept her busy and supported them financially but still allowed her to spend time with her son. She didn't want to her son to grow up like her. Her mom seldomly spent time with her because of the nature of her job. Caroline understood though because being a sheriff required late and unusual working hours. But Caroline didn't want Nathan to feel neglected like she had before. And it was great, she was always home when it was time for dinner and they'd talk about their day. Then during the weekends, they'd do various things such as go to the movies, or eating at their favorite restaurants after one of Nathan's soccer games. Sometimes it's just the two of them and the other times they'd all hangout with Caroline's friends and their kids. Even though it was only the two of them, Nathan grew up surrounded by a lot of people who loved him. Caroline knew that Nathan often wondered about the father he never met. She knew that he often felt left out whenever his friends would bond with their fathers or during father-son days at his school. His Uncle Matt always went with him to those though, for which Caroline was so grateful for.

Ugh..this is why she doesn't drink that much. Drinking leads to her thinking of thoughts that she would usually block out and desperately tried not think about.

Thoughts that lead to her other son, Clayton. She always wondered how he was, if he was happy.. The day she had to give him up was the worst day of her life. It hurt her even more than the day she walked out the door and left Nik.

Niklaus.. now that was a name Caroline hasn't said outloud in years. Yes, she wonders about him as well. She tries not to dwell on thoughts about him because it would usually lead to "what ifs". What if she hadn't left? What if she stayed and they worked things out? But what if she stayed and things just got worse? There were times when she wanted to pick up the phone and call him. To ask how he was, to ask about her son. She writes Clayton letters for his birthday every year but she never sends them. Because that was the agreement they had in court. They each take one son. That way, they'd never have to see each other again. It was not fair and Caroline would forever despise the side of her that gave up her other son. But what was her other option? She'd take both kids? She wouldn't do that to Nik. And if he took both, she'd never want that as well. It was complicated.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Elena asked her all of the sudden, pulling Caroline out from her depressing thoughts.

"It's nothing.." Caroline shrugged and poured herself another glass of wine. She glared at the bottle. It was supposed to make her forget, not make her think.

"I know you, Care. C'mon. What's bothering you?" Elena nudged her shoulder as she tried to fit herself beside Caroline.

Caroline scooted over to make room for Elena. "It's really nothing.. was just thinking about..stuff."

Elena's face was filled with understanding as she placed her hand on Caroline's. "Okay."

Caroline smiled at her, grateful that she didn't have to explain herself.

"Alright, I'm just realizing what a depressing sight this is." Katherine said, jumping up all of the sudden which made her kind of trip over the box of pizza. "Let's hit the clubs?"

Bonnie laughed. "Aren't we a little too old for clubs?"

"Honey, we're never too old. C'mon. I'll drive." Katherine beamed, dangling a set of car keys in her hand. Caroline blinked. It seemed like it suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"But can you drive in that state?" Elena asked, looking concerned.

Katherine waved away Elena's concern. "I'm fine. I hardly drank a thing. Let's to dancing." She said and started making her way towards Caroline's bedroom. Caroline assumed to borrow a pair of heels in exchange for the flats she was wearing.

Caroline contemplated declining, but then she remembered that she did want to forget and just let loose for once. So she stood up and made her way towards her room to change into a more suitable outfit. This was going to be a long night.

xxxxxxx

Clay hoped he didn't look as ridiculous as he felt. He was currently wearing a white fencing jacket, fencing gloves and a fencing mask. He was suddenly thankful for all those times he and his dad played sword fighting in their garden while his Uncle Kol played commentator and his Aunt Bekah ignored them, sipping on her tea. Yeah, his family was medieval like that.

It was eight in the morning and even if he was usually a morning person, he wished he could just go back to the cabin to take a nap. An excrutiatingly loud alarm woke them up at six. At first he tried to ignore it but it was useless because he was sure that he would still be able to hear it all the way from London. It was that loud. Last night, Clay and his cabin-mates decided to bike around camp. They ended up seeing an abandoned house and decied to take a bit of a tour. They snuck back to their cabin past curfew and decided to watch a movie. It's been almost a week since camp started and Clay could honestly say that he was genuinely enjoying his time here. Mornings usually consisted of various physical and team-building activites, then lunch, then during the afternoons they had another activity but this time matching their personal interests. Clay usually spent his afternoons in a painting workshop. After that, they were free to do whatever they pleased. Then dinner came and usually there was a bonfire after dinner. Clay hadn't had the chance to meet other people aside from his cabin-mates but he was thankful that his cabin-mates seemed to be as dorky as him. Maybe they were grouped by their level of dorkiness, Clay thought with a snicker.

"Ready?" Hans asked, standing beside him.

"Yup, as swift as a coursing river and with all the strength of a raging fire." Clay said. He thinks that Hans was already sort of used to him blurting out random things. He was way past worrying about that now. And anyway, he needed to concentrate on the battle he was about to embark on.

Yeah, he has sort of has a flair for the dramatic. Blame his father.

"So its Clay Mikaelson representing Cabin B." Becky, the one in-charge for the physical activities, said through her megaphone. "Please step forward, Clay."

Clay followed her instruction and stepped forward into the field. He could hear his cabin-mates cheering him on. Yeap, he got this.

"And for Cabin B, Nathan Forbes! Please step forward." Becky continued, motioning for the guy on the other side of the field.

Clay peered at him, trying to figure out if he's talked to him or saw him before. Cause, you gotta know who your opponent is. Maybe he taking this a bit too seriously. But can he be blamed? He was basically shit at all the other sports they played so far. He can barely throw a ball, let alone shoot it inside a basket. This is the one sport he excelled at.

His opponent Nathan, as Becky called him, stepped forward with an air confidence in him. Clay tried to mimic Nathan's confident stride as they walked towards each other. He stopped halfway though when he realized that he probably looked like a baby deer trying to walk for the first time.

When they were finally facing each other, Clay noticed how they were about the same height and the same build. This was gonna be a fair fight then. Even though they were both wearing masks, Clay could swear that they were sizing each other up.

If he listens closely, Clay swears he could hear Pompeii by Bastille playing in the background. Or I'll Make a Man Out of You.

"Okay, when you hear the whistle, you may begin!"

*whistling sound through the megaphone*

"Begin!"

Nathan immediately executed a flurry of thrusts and slashes but Clay elegantly parried and dodged each and every blow. Without missing a beat, Clay quickly launched a counter attack aimed straight at Nathan's stomach. But Nathan quickly jumped back, evading it completely. Nathan's looked like he was starting to get agitated. Clay smirked, knowing that he practically had this in the bag. Sure, Nathan was fast and athletic, but he surely wasn't experienced at fencing based on his reckless attacks, Clay thought. Wow, since when was he this competitive? Clay quickly dashed forward and aimed for Nathan's chest this time. The attack looked as if it hit but Nathan was able to dogde it just in time.

"Uhm. That was a hit wasn't, it?" Clay asked Nathan.

"Close, but not quite." Nathan arrogantly shot back.

After that momentary exchange, both of them quickly jumped back. Clay could hear various cheers from both teams, but he his mind was so set in the game that it didn't really affect him. Nathan, on the other hand, seemed distracted. Clay noticed that the lake was right behind where Nathan was standing, meaning he could no longer dodge Clay's attacks by jumping backwards. Taking advantage of this, Clay quickly dashed forward and thrust his sabre towards Nathan once again. Nathan, not realizing that the lake was right behind him, quickly jumped backward. However, as he was about to fall into the lake, he quickly grabbed Clay's outstreched hand, and they both fell into the water.

"Hell!" Clay exclaimed as they both emerged from the water. He can hear Nathan muttering a series of profanities behind him.

"What the fuck did you do that for?!"

Clay turned to face him. "Me? You pulled me!"

"You PUSHED me in!" Nathan shot back.

"I certainly did not push you." Clay stated as calm as could because first of all, why are they conversing when they should be getting out of this bloody cold water. He started swimming back.

He looked up to see several worried faces peering at them. Becky looked so worried that is was quite a hilarious sight. She had her hands outstretched towards them like she didn't know what to do.

With the help of their cabin-mates, Clay and Nathan were finally standing on solid ground. He could practically feel Nathan glaring at him. Clay really ought to take his fencing mask off now. And that he did.

Once he took it off, someone nudged him.

"You okay, man?"

Who was this? Ah well, probably just concerned. "I'm alright. Freezing cold, though."

The guy gave him an odd look. "What the hell man? Did the cold water suddenly give you an accent?"

"What?"

"What the fuck?" Someone said from behind him. Clay turned around and saw well..Bloody hell. He knew that he can get a bit bizarre sometimes, but was he going mad now?

Clay was so in shock he didn't know what to say. "Uhm. So you look like me." Well, wasn't he being Captain Obvious?


	4. Chapter 4

Nathan was in shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Cause it was well..him.

"Uhm. So you look like me." Clay, or whatever his name was, said.

Well, no shit Sherlock.

Nathan still couldn't find it in him to say a thing. He was freaked out, to say the least.

"Woah." James said all the sudden. Nathan turned to look at his friend. At this point he'd rather look at anyone else who didn't fucking look like him. "It is just me or am I seeing double?"

"How is this even possible?" Clay stepped closer to Nathan, asking him. Fuck knows how, Nathan wanted to say.

He decided immediately that he was going to act this was no big deal because well.. because he didn't wanna deal with it, that's why.

Nathan shrugged. "So we look alike. What's the big deal?"

Clay's eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets. Damn, could his eyes do that as well? "N-not a big deal?!" Clay sputtered.

"What, is this the first time you've seen someone who looked similar to you?" Yes, that's it then. They just looked eerily similar. Because Nathan could probably count with one hand the number of times he's seen someone who looked a bit like him. Probably not as much as Clay does. But still.

"Mate, I've never seen anyone who looked exactly like me."

"Well, MATE, here in America, there is an abundance of people with blue eyes and blond hair."

Clay pulled his hair in frustration. Nathan wanted to laugh, to be honest. Look, he didn't want to think about it because well, the other explanation would be that they were twins. Because then that would mean that he'd have a fucking brother.

"Actually, our eyes don't really look the same. Yours are freakishly huge. Like an owl." Nathan said.

Clay scowled. "It's not."

"It is, man." Nathan said, nodding at him with mock sympathy. Clay narrowed his eyes at him, which made Nathan take a step back. He was freaked out, all right. Because..well..

His mom had that very same expression whenever she was frustrated with him.

Okay, Nathan's had enough of this. There was only so much weirdness that he could handle for a day. And it was only 8:30 in the morning.

"Okay boys, let's just go through this calmly, and rationally." Becky suddenly said from beside him, seeming to notice the tension growing between Nathan and Clay.

"I'm heading back to the Cabin." Nathan said, already starting to walk away when Becky suddenly grabbed his arm.

What the hell? Nathan wanted to shrug her hand off of him.

"No, you are not going anywhere until this is sorted."

"What's there to sort? We look alike, so what?" Nathan asked, not even bothering to conceal his annoyance anymore. He knew was being even more rude than usual. His mother was going to whack him in the head if she saw him behaving like this. Now that Nathan thought about it, how was it that nobody ever noticed that there were two of him walking around camp all week?

"We should call your parents." She said.

At that, Clay turned back to the conversation from where he was talking to some guys. "I don't think that's necessary."

For the first time, Nathan agreed with Clay. "Yeah, let's not."

"Okay." Becky looked like she herself was trying to keep her patience in check. "Okay. Let's just all go back to our respective cabins then regroup for lunch."

"Uh..Nathan?" Clay was suddenly beside him.

"Woah. Dude. You can't just do things like that." Nathan moved away from him a bit. A look passed over Clay's face but it was gone before Nathan could analyze if he looked hurt or something.

"Do you wanna talk about this?" Clay waved his hand between both of them.

What Nathan wanted was to get the hell out of here. "Nope, I don't." And with that, he started walking away from the field. Fuck everyone. He suddenly can't wait for this camp to be over.

xxxxxx

Clay wanted to laugh at the ironic state he found himself in. He was currently unpacking his suitcase. The one he's just packed thirty minutes ago. Yes, he was placed in a new cabin and his new cabin-mate was none than Nathan Forbes, his doppelganger. The cabin they were placed in was not as nice as the cabin he stayed in when he first arrived. First, it was located in a more secluded area, away from "civilization". It was smaller, only having two rooms. The walls were so thin he felt like he was in some emo music video with music playing in the background while he was unpacking his suitcase, contemplating his life choices.

Oh right, because there really was music playing in the background. Nathan has been blasting some emo song or other ever since they've arrived here. Clay wanted to unplug the goddamn speaker.

How did he find himself in this predicament? Well, it started three days ago. After he met Nathan at the fencing tournament, he'd been approaching him and trying to talk to him. He didn't know what he wanted to achieve by doing so, but he just wanted to find out something, anything, on why the hell they looked exactly alike. Then Nathan kept ignoring and avoiding him. When they inevitably had to face each other again for the second fencing tournament, Nathan literally pushed him which caused Clay to fall into the lake for the second time. Whether it was intentional or not, Clay didn't find out because once he emerged from the water, he pushed Nathan to the ground-still in his fencing mask and all- and they engaged something that looked like a combination of a boxing match and animals fighting in a jungle. Not that Clay was any good in boxing or had any physical strength worth showing off. It was ugly and he ended up having a black eye. Clay didn't know what the facilitators were smoking when they came up with the idea of having them live together as punishment. This was going to be a recipe for disaster.

Clay shoved the last of his clothes inside the closet. Okay, what was he going to do now? As part of the punishment, they were not allowed to join any of the morning tournaments anymore. Clay wanted to laugh in their faces and say, "Well, it's not like I was enjoying any of them anyway!". That was the only part of the punishment that Clay was glad about. He didn't have to endure any of the sports he was shit at. So what now?

Clay decided that he was gonna grab something to eat in the cafeteria then. He wondered if he should ask Nathan if he wanted something from the cafeteria or if he wanted to join him. Nathan would surely decline but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Plus, now that they're cabin-mates, Clay figured that they might as well just forget about their animosity towards each other and just become civil if they can't be friends.

Clay walked out of his room and crossed the hall to Nathan's room. Pierce The Veil was now blasting through the speakers when Clay knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" Nathan raised his voice over the music.

Clay pushed the door open and popped his head through the crack. "I'm gonna go to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. Want anything?"

Nathan just stared at him like Clay had something on his face. Clay was tempted to feel his face if there was something there. It wasn't totally farfetched what with Clay being the clumsy person he is.

"I'm not hungry." Nathan finally said after what seemed like ages.

"Okay." Clay shrugged. He was about to close the door when a strong gush of wind made Nathan stand up from where he was sitting to close the window. Clay immediately crossed the room to help him. After they finally managed to close the window, Clay noticed the mess that was caused by the sudden wind.

"Shit." Nathan said as he went to pick up some of the stuff that fell.

Clay bent down to pick up a couple of papers that were scattered. "Here. They aren't ruined."

Nathan reached for the papers. If Clay wasn't mistaken, he looked a bit grateful. "Thanks."

"No problem." Clay stood up and started walking back out. "So, I'm gonna go now."

"Do you like Oreos?" Nathan suddenly asked him, causing Clay to stop right in his tracks.

"Me?" Clay asked, pointing to himself.

Nathan gave him a weird look. "Who else? See anyone around?" He waved his hand around the room.

Right. Clay sometimes really wanted to smack himself.

"So? You want some?" Nathan asked him again as he dug through his bag and retrieved a pack of Oreos.

Clay tilted his head, contemplating accepting the offer or sticking with his plan to go to the cafeteria. Ah, what the hell. He didn't really like taking the long walk to the cafeteria anyway.

"Yeah sure, thanks." Clay said and caught the pack of Oreos as Nathan threw it towards him. He sat at the edge of Nathan's bed and dug through the pack. He opened the cookie and took out the cream.

"No freaking way." Nathan suddenly said, eyes wide as he stared at the oreo Clay was holding. What now?

"What?" Clay asked warily. Nathan seemed like a ticking time bomb.

Nathan shook his head, pointing at the oreo. "You take out the white part too?"

"Yeah? So?"

"I do that too!" Nathan told Clay accusingly, as if it was all his fault. Clay didn't know what the big deal was, really.

"Mate, lots of people don't fancy the cream part."

Nathan just shook his head and sat beside him to take an oreo from the bag. "This is some weird shit man."

"The weirdest." Clay agreed.

"So where exactly do you come from?" Nathan asked him. Clay wanted to laugh because it was as if he came from another planet or something. He wanted to joke about it, but didn't think Nathan would appreciate his weirdness just yet.

"London. You?"

"New York."

"Heard the art schools there are wicked!" Clay exclaimed. He has always wanted to visit New York. He and his dad travelled a lot, but his dad never wanted to go there for some reason Clay didn't know.

"I wouldn't know, not really interested." Nathan shrugged, digging another oreo from the bag. "What's it like there in London?"

"Well, terrible weather I'm telling ya." Clay laughed, then he suddenly got an idea. He pulled out his phone from his pocket. "Here, I'll show you some pictures."

He went to his photos folder and showed Nathan pictures of his school, him and his friends, some scenery photos, photos of museums etc. One particular photo made Nathan speak up though.

"Who's that?" Nathan asked him, pointing at his dad who's back was facing the camera, pointing at one of the paintings in their art room at home.

"My dad. He was talking about something or other when I snapped the photo."

Clay continued showing him various shots from his phone when he suddenly noticed how Nathan was not making his usual commentary anymore. Maybe he got bored, Clay figured, because how many snapshots of boring old scenery can one take anyway? Clay went to put his phone back in his pocket.

"So how old are you, anyway?" Clay asked him, just to fill the silence.

That seemed to snap Nathan out of his reverie. "Turning 17 on November 11."

Clay almost choked on the oreo he was chewing on. "You're birthday is on November 11?!"

"Yeah.." Nathan nodded slowly, eyeing him weirdly.

"That's my birthday too!" Clay exclaimed, standing up and pacing the room. What the hell is this? They look alike, they have the same birthday and fine, they even have the same bloody habit of not eating the cream part of a bloody oreo. Clay felt like he was going to faint any second now.

Clay stopped to look at Nathan, who, uncharastically, was just sitting there looking calm as fuck.

"Why aren't you freaking out?" Clay wanted to shake Nathan. He started pacing again. That was the only way he could cope. "We have the same birthday. We look alike. This doesn't make any SENSE! I think I'm gonna pass out. I think-"

"Do you have a mom?" Nathan asked him, making Clay suddenly stop pacing.

"I..what?"

"Do you have a mom?" Nathan repeated. What kind of a stupid question is that?

"Of course I do! How the hell would I be here if I didn't have one?"

Nathan shook his head, frustrated. "No, I mean, is she with you?"

That made Clay stop. "Well..no. My dad said they separated when I was still a baby. Why?"

Then suddenly, Clay understood what Nathan was implying. "Do you..do you live with your dad?"

He knew the answer then and there based on Nathan's expression but he was still scared to know.

"No." Nathan slowly shook his head, seeming to be in a permanent state of shock now.

"Fuck." Clay sat down on the bed again, staring at the floor in shock.

"I have a picture of my dad..but it's..it's old and it's ripped and.."

"I HAVE A PHOTO OF MY MOM BUT ITS TORN TOO." Clay stood up and shouted, making Nathan flinch.

"Calm down, man." Nathan stood up as well and eyed him warily.

"I don't understand how you're so calm about this."

"I'm not! But to be honest I'm getting a bit worried about the state you're in. You look like you're about to have a seizure."

"Because maybe I am?! Do you know what this means?"

"Look, this could be a total coincidence."

"What kind of coincidence is this? Some witchery shit?" Clay himself didn't know what he was talking about already. His mind was going a mile a minute.

"Let's just show each other the pictures then." Nathan started to dig through his bag for the photo, Clay assumed.

He slowly took out his wallet from his pocket and plucked the photo out.

Nathan turned back to face him, holding his photo close to his chest.

"On the count of 3, we show each other the picture."

"This is so freaky." Clay shook his head, wondering how the hell he found himself in this situation.

"Okay, one.."

"Two.."

"Three."

They both revealed the photos they were holding and Clay felt like his eyes were about to pop from their sockets. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "That's.. my dad."

"And that's my mom! Holy shit." Nathan was staring at the photo Clay was holding. Clay, on the other hand, couldn't stop looking at the photo of his dad. Nathan's hands were trembling. Clay couldn't even begin to process what was happening.

They looked up at each other.

"Fuck..You're my brother."

Clay could only nod. Bloody hell..they were twins.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi! Thank you for the reviews and follows/favorites! I really appreciate it :) I'll probably be updating slower next week due to school work but I'll try to update as much as possible. I read how Clay and Nathan seemed to be acting younger than their ages. And that's true lol. It probably also reflects how I am as a person, I'm twenty years old but I know I don't act my age. I sometimes get anxiety at how some people my age seem to act more mature than I do. If its bothersome how young Clay and Nathan seem to act for their ages, I'll try to change that. Don't hesistate to voice out any opinions, even if its negative. More so if it's negative because it would help me improve. This chapter would be the last chapter of the boys in camp. We'll get to see Klaus and Caroline again next chapter. Anyway, enough of me rambling. Here's the next chapter :) **

Nathan stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. He was finally able to wrap his mind around the fact that he had a brother. In fact, they've already "bonded" through various things like Nathan taught Clay some soccer and they went biking the other day. Turns out, even if they were complete opposites, they still got along pretty well. He also was able to to process the fact that he had a father who was living in London. A father that he never knew and that was with his brother. Well, he obviously knew that he had a dad, but he never allowed himself to think about the possibility of ever meeting him. He also wondered how the hell his life suddenly became a Hollywood movie. This kind of shit just doesn't happen in real life.

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. When he was a kid, he tried asking his mom a couple of times why she and his dad separated but all Nathan got were vague answers. Then one day, his mom gave him the photo of his dad. She told Nathan that his dad loved him even though he wasn't with them. Nathan felt a stinging in his right eye and furiously wiped away the tear that was threatening to fall. He's always wondered how it was to have a dad. Clay got to experience that. But Nathan knew he was being unfair because Clay in turn didn't know what it was like to have a mom. Did Clay also wonder what it's like to have a mom?

Nathan suddenly sat up from his bed with wide eyes. He just got a bizarre idea. He didn't even consider what time it was when he quickly walked out of his bedroom to cross the hall to Clay's room.

He still had the decency to knock though.

"Clay? You up?"

He heard a loud thump from behind a door and was mildly worried when the door suddenly flew wide open to reveal a bewildered-looking Clay.

"What the hell happened in there?"

"I kind of..sort of.. fell off the bed." Clay said sheepishly.

"Yeah, we gotta work on your clumsiness." Nathan decided as he pushed past Clay and entered his brother's (yes, he had a brother now) room.

"Why would we need to do that?" Clay asked as he closed to door and went back to sit on his bed.

Nathan dragged a chair close to Clay's bed and sat on it. "So I have this idea."

"Why do I find myself afraid to find out whatever this idea of yours is?"

"Just here me out okay?"

Clay rolled his eyes but nodded.

"Alright. So you're probably wondering what its like to have a mom right?"

Clay just nodded. It was probably to Nathan's advantage that Clay seemed to still be half-asleep. He wasn't opposing him like usual.

"I also wonder what it's like to have a dad." Nathan admitted quietly, hoping Clay wouldn't hear it.

The look on Clay's face showed that he heard it though. He just smiled. "He's great. I mean, dad is. You'll love him."

"Mom too." Nathan agreed, face reddening. So another opposite trait. His brother had no problem with being an open book while Nathan runs way at the first mention of anything emotion-related.

"So what's this idea of yours?" Clay asked, steering the conversation back.

Right. Nathan cleared his throat. "So I'm suggesting that we switch places."

Clay looked like he was going to fall off the bed again. They really needed to fix that if this was to work. "Switch..what?!"

"Switch places. In a week when camp's over, you go to New York as me and I fly back to London as you."

Clay seemed to be thinking about it. Nathan waited for him to process the information.

"I don't know..I mean, it's going to be obvious. They'll figure it out."

So Nathan needed to convince him more, then. Alright, that he could do. He didn't win the Marketing Award last year in school for no reason. He had mastered in the arts of persuasion from an early age.

"They won't." Nathan said in his most assuring voice. Then he adapted what he figured was a convincing British accent. "I'll just talk like this and blurt out unsual things every five minutes."

"Okay, that was really on point." Clay laughed. Then he schooled his features, "And I'll just act like a jerk 98% of the time."

Nathan grinned, impressed with his brother's American accent. "See? They won't notice a thing."

"But how will we switch back?"

Good point. But Nathan was already steps ahead. "We tell them the truth at the end of the summer, and they'll have to switch us back. Then they'll meet."

The expression Clay had on his face made Nathan smirk. He knew that Clay already agreed.

xxxxxxxx

The living room of their cabin had turned out looking like a lecture room what with all the posters on the walls filled with various writings and drawings. For the past four days, Clay has been learning everything he could about Nathan's life. In turn, Clay taught Nathan everything he needed to know about his life in London. Clay found out that Nathan played for the soccer varsitiy at his school. It made Clay want to back out then and there because there was no way he would be able to fake playing that. But then he remembered that the switch would only last for the summer so he was safe. Nathan also told him about his mum's bestfriends; Bonnie and the twins named Katherine and Elena. Nathan said that he'd always see them visiting the house with their kids. They were like cousins or second siblings to Nathan. He also told Clay about his Uncle Matt, the one who acted like a second father to Nathan. Clay asked him if he was dating his mom but Nathan just laughed and told him that Matt was just like her brother and that his mom never dates anyone.

In turn Clay told Nathan about his Uncles and Aunt. About how he was closest to his Aunt Rebekah and that she was the only one who knew about his sexuality as of the moment. Nathan didn't seem to mind about Clay being gay, for which Clay was grateful for. In fact, Nathan even made a rather touching speech for which he made Clay promise never to mention to anyone or else there'd be repurcussions. Anyway, Clay told Nathan about his weekend activites, his friends and the various everyday things that he needed to know.

Clay reckons that they pretty much have everything covered. In two days, he would be seeing his mum for the first time. He couldn't wait.


End file.
